March Madness: Will Cincinnati Beat Georgia State? A.I. Predicts

The Georgia State Panthers won one of the most dramatic upsets in recent NCAA tourney when they beat the 3-seed Baylor Bears in 2015 — complete with head coach Ron Hunter falling out of his chair as his son R.J. made the winning shot. Can they pull off an even bigger miracle against the 2-seed Cincinnati Bearcats?

Though his son has since graduated, the elder Hunter is still around and is talking some trash before the matchup, saying Cincinnati stays at the Hyatt and goes to Ruth’s Chris Steak House, while his Panthers stay at the Comfort Inn and eat Wendy’s. Make of that what you will while a hive mind of fans predicts who will win the game.

To predict the result of this and other games, Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as swarm intelligence to forecast the week’s slate. About 50 college basketball fans worked together as a hive mind to make picks. As you can see in the animation below, each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. As the users saw the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggers a psychological response. They readjust their decision-making, building toward a consensus.

The hive is almost certain that Cincinnati will emerge as the victors in this game. The swarm made this selection with 91 percent of its brainpower, suggesting that this result is pretty likely.